SunLight Sliders: Infinite

by Amber Spark

Chapter 8 - Shakespearicles

Sunset played the guitar with focused fury, powering the ship's engines. Twilight played the drums like she was having a seizure, charging the weapons and she cried havoc.

"Let slip the dog of war!" Spike growled. Sunset's sick guitar licks sent energy throughout the ship. The control panel lit up with power and the ship lurched forward with unnatural speed. Spike took up the controls that he had specially modified for his canine form, save for his human-robotic arm.

Though the Sunlight's Dawn was larger, and armored, the pirate vessels were smaller, faster and more maneuverable. One came along the ship's broadside, and opened fire. The small arms fire wasn't enough to damage the ship, but that wasn't the objective. It was fatal to anyone on board. Once the crew was incapacitated, they would board and loot the ship, or more likely, keep the vessel for themselves. Spike brought the forward gun online and locked onto one of the pirates' ships. He looked back at Twilight.

"I need more cowbell!" Spike yelled. Twilight couldn't hear him over the incoming fire, Sunset's guitar, and her own cacophony on the drums. Spike grabbed the PA microphone. "Cowbell, Twilight!"

Twilight realized that she hadn't opened her eyes since she had started screaming and swinging her drum sticks at the set. She looked at the drums and finally spotted the small affixed cowbell tucked safely out of the way of being struck. Twilight smacked the cowbell. The forward cannon fired into the broadside of the pirate ship, causing it to burst into flames. The wreckage drifted away like dust in the wind.

"Just a drop of water in the endless sea," Spike said as he steered the ship toward the second ship. Spike picked up the microphone again. "Shimmer, this is your big solo!" Sunset played even faster. Her fingers were a blur on the frets as she went from note to hammer-on to power chord. The front of the ship lifted up was the entire ship lurched forward in a burst of speed.

The armored bow of the Sunlight Dawn slammed into the pirate ship with a dragon force, splitting it in twain and causing it to burst into a fireball. They sailed through the fire and flames until all that was left was smoke on the water. The last of the three ships came around behind them. Even with Sunset playing at five-star speed, Spike simply couldn't move the ship fast enough to get away. The pirate ship fired a grappling hook at them and reeled itself in. One of the pirates boarded, landing next to Twilight.

"Oh, yeah, sure, just come sail away with me," Spike muttered while Twilight turned and tried to beat the confused pirate with her drum sticks. Spike aimed the aft gun around at the attached pirate boat. "I gotta have more cowbell!" Spike yelled. The gun was charged. "Twilight!" He looked back at Twilight at the aft deck, futilely fighting the attacking pirate.

Spike jumped out of his captain's chair and ran to her. He closed the distance and leaped. Jaws met jewels and the pirate shrieked. He let go just long enough to drop to the deck and give him a bionic uppercut. The engine of the Sunlight's Dawn cut out. Sunset had stopped playing guitar, and was running at full speed to them. She lifted the guitar up over her head and swung her ax like... an ax, slamming the pirate in the face and sending him falling back off the ship into the other pirates that were trying to board behind him. He knocked them back into their own boat, which was now firmly lodged against the vessel. Spike turned and looked at Twilight. "HIT IT!"

Twilight got back to the drum set and smacked the cowbell. The aft cannon blasted the ship behind them into a cloud of purple haze, showering them with wooden debris. As the last of the planks finished clattering onto the deck or splashing back into the water, the sea became calm and quiet once again.

"You saved my life again!" Twilight squealed, hugging a very surprised Sunset.

"Whoa," Sunset gasped.

"Oh, sorry," Twilight blushed.

"No, not you, that!" Sunset said, pointing at the talisman. It was glowing and ready to go. "I guess your hugs aremagical."

"Or it's this," Spike said, holding up the Mythril crystal to them. "This is what they were after."

"It's just like mine," Twilight said, touching the crystal pendant on her necklace.

"You can use them for all sorts of things," Spike said. "It what I based most of my engineering technology around. You can use it to power lights, and tools, and ships-"

"And the TPT," Sunset finished.

"That too," Spike said.

"So if you've been working with this technology for a while, do you think you would be able to improve it?" Twilight asked.

"I wouldn't be much of an engineer if I couldn't," Spike replied.

"Do you think you possess the skills to help us better navigate our way back home with this TPT?" Twilight asked.

"Let me see it," Spike said. Twilight gave him the TPT. He snapped open the cover and inspected it. He grimaced as he looked it over. "Ah, now that's just sloppy craftsmanship."

"How so?" Sunset asked.

"This is almost an exact replica of the prototype," Spike said. "By the second iteration there were already many improvements. This has none of them. In fact, it just looks like someone tried to replicate the prototype just by looking at the pictures." Spike began to disassemble the TPT. "And there's something else."

"What is it?" Twilight asked. Spike brought over a few strange-looking instruments to his workbench. He used each one in turn taking measurements and getting readings.

"There's a strange kind of energy in here that I've never seen before," Spike said.

"Oh... oh yeah?" Sunset asked nervously.

"Magic?" Twilight asked.

"Magic and energy are two sides of the same coin," Spike said, reassembling it. "But this... this is a currency I've never seen before."

"So can you make it take us home or not?" Twilight asked.

"Well, as a brilliant engineer, I could just Deus Ex Macarena this thing into a perfectly controllable dimension hopper that would take you wherever you want to go. Home, I would presume. But if I do, the magic in this thing might react poorly," Spike said.

"How poorly?" Twilight asked.

"Like, it could destroy the device entirely," Spike said.

"I don't want to take that gamble!" Sunset said, grabbing the TPT. "No offense Spike, but I don't want to be stranded here."

"But Sunset! It's a chance to get home!" Twilight said.

"Well, maybe this... mystery magic will help take us where we need to go?" Sunset said. "And besides, it's still my TPT. So it's my call." Twilight pouted. "You can come with me or stay here if you like." Sunset looked around at the smoldering bits of pirate ship strewn across the ship's deck. "But this seems like a damn dangerous place to stay."

"Can't argue with that," Twilight agreed. "Spike, you should come with us!"

"A captain never abandons his ship," Spike said. "And besides, I'm still waiting for my Sunset and Twilight to come back."

"For how long?" Sunset asked. Spike glared at her.

"How long would you wait?" he asked her. Sunset said nothing and activated the portal.

"Good luck, Spike," Twilight said.

"Now or never, Sparky," Sunset said, jumping through. Twilight quickly followed after.

They landed in a futuristic city. The streets were vacant, and quiet. But not for long. All around them red lights began to flash and alarms blared.

"Sunset alert! Sunset alert! Sector C! One Three Seven!" they heard a Twilight's voice repeating over the automated PA system. Purple flashes began appearing all around them as they became surrounded by hundreds of identical lavender unicorns.

The index magic that Void had put into the TPT caused it to tear itself loose from the necklace and self-destruct on the ground, leaving nothing but ash.

"Oh, not good!" Twilight cried.

"She's here," Sunset said, looking out into the growing crowd of Twilights. "My Twilight is here."

"But which one is her?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know," Sunset said, looking out at the sea of Twilights, realizing that trying to find hers in a city of Twilights would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. She looked at she scorched pile of dust that was once her TPT. "But something tells me we're going to have plenty of time to look. But we better find her. She has the other TPT, and our only ticket out of here!"

Author's Note:

Chapter written by Shakespearcles!

Comments

[The Spy of the Tiger]

The armored bow of the Sunlight Dawn slammed into the pirate ship with a dragon force, splitting it in twain and causing it to burst into a fireball. They sailed through the fire and flames until all that was left was smoke on the water. The last of the three ships came around behind them. Even with Sunset playing at five-star speed, Spike simply couldn't move the ship fast enough to get away. The pirate ship fired a grappling hook at them and reeled itself in. One of the pirates boarded, landing next to Twilight.

I can't believe you've done this.

[TheYear2525]

Lol, smoke on the water.

She lifted the guitar up over her head and swung her ax like... an ax

"Now that's what I call a battle axe!"